Posted by Aymenn Al-Tamimi on Friday, November 28th, 2014

By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

With the rise of IS, it is of interest to examine how IS has secured pledges of allegiance (bay’ah) from other groups both on the domestic front (i.e. within Iraq and Syria) and abroad (e.g. in Gaza-Sinai and Libya). I would argue that the case of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam (‘The Group of the Supporters/Partisans of Islam’) offers instructive insight not only into the factors that lead to pledges of allegiance but also the means of interpreting the available evidence.

To recall, Jamaat Ansar al-Islam is the latest incarnation of the al-Qa’ida-linked Ansar al-Islam of Iraqi Kurdistan that was destroyed in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Remnants then formed Ansar al-Sunna, which split two ways in 2007: Jamaat Ansar al-Islam and Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna, the latter of which has recently claimed some very limited operational activity in the south of Baghdad and issued a lengthy tract from its leader calling for unity among the ‘mujahideen of the Ummah.’ The main areas of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s presence in Iraq have been Mosul, Kirkuk province, and over the course of this year the Tikrit area and a more limited emergence in Anbar province. In 2011, one of the leaders of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam- Abu Muhammad al-Muhajir– expanded the group’s presence into Syria, setting up a camp in al-Hewel in Hasakah province on the border with Iraq. Calling itself ‘Ansar al-Sham,’ Jamaat Ansar al-Islam then spread its presence across northern Syria.

Though aspiring for the goal of a global Caliphate, Jamaat Ansar al-Islam has traditionally been a rival of IS and its prior incarnations- the Islamic State in Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq- because it has not accepted the claim that IS or its predecessors constitute an actual state, let alone a Caliphate. This sparked multiple clashes in Mosul and Kirkuk province, with the targeting of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam-linked professionals and religious figures in the former in particular. In early 2013, Jamaat Ansar al-Islam had appealed to al-Qa’ida leader Aymenn al-Zawahiri to restrain what was then the Islamic State of Iraq, but to no avail.

The renewal of the wider Sunni Arab insurgency in 2014 brought problems between Jamaat Ansar al-Islam and IS to the forefront: the two appear to have worked together to bring about the fall of Mosul and Tikrit. However, IS very quickly began to crack down on the presence of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in both cities. Over the course of the summer, both before and after the Caliphate declaration on 29 June, IS advertised via its ‘Wilayat Ninawa’ provincial news feed two apparent waves of defections from Jamaat Ansar al-Islam to IS. The latter instance is of particular interest because around the same time there emerged a statement put out in Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s name claiming the dissolution of the organization in Iraq and its allegiance to IS:

“Indeed we give good news to the Islamic Ummah in the east and west of the land of the announcement of the dissolution of the group [jamaat] ‘Ansar al-Islam in Iraq’ and allegiance to the Commander of the Believers: Caliph Ibrahim (may God protect him)…This pledge of allegiance has come after sessions and meetings with the sheikhs of the Islamic State who showed to us the legitimacy of the Islamic State’s project via proof in tradition and thought. The last of these meetings was on 29 Shuwwal, in which we announced the bay’ah by group and individual membership, and before that, proof had been shown to us regarding the truth of the existence of the Islamic State on the ground as a state with establishments having weight in this environment of states.

It is also the one [state] that has defeated the Crusaders, broken the thorn of the Safavids, annihilated the apostate Sahwa forces, bloodied the nose of the secularist Kurds, opened up the abode of the Muslims, got rid of the artificially imposed borders among the land of the Muslims. It is also the one that has broken the bonds and freed the lions, and it is the one that has made God’s law the ruling authority, has implemented the hudud [Shari’a punishments], established offices and has been just towards the oppressed. Moreover, it has established security, cultivated order and protection, and provided support for the orphans and wayfarers. All that and more we have seen with our eyes and felt with our hands, so may God reward them best in the stead of the Muslims.

Let it be known that this statement of allegiance is the last one coming from Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq, and any other statement following it, we disavow that statement…further, this blessed allegiance to the Dawla took place with the attendance of dozens of commanders and amirs of the Ansar…This has also led us to direct a forthright call to all factions and groups in the fields of jihad in the totality and the brothers of creed and ideological program [aqida wa manhaj] from the members of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam outside of Iraq [i.e. in Syria]…to pledge allegiance […]

This statement’s veracity was immediately denied in a statement put out on what was then Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s official Twitter feed, which I have translated here. At first sight, one might be inclined to go with my initial assessment, based on the issuing of the denial on the official Twitter feed, that Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq had not been really been dissolved after all, even if it had been significantly weakened by the allegiance pledges to IS (without quantifying exactly how far it had been weakened). However, it is now apparent that the statement above put out in the name of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s Majlis Shura, far from being a mere forgery, represented the overwhelming majority of the organization, and that whoever controlled the group’s official Twitter feed at the time only constituted a small remnant that had not pledged allegiance to IS and has subsequently ceased to exist for all intents and purposes as a distinct Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq on the ground.

Multiple lines of evidence corroborate this assessment. First, since the issuing of the denial of dissolution, the group’s Twitter account has disappeared and has not re-emerged. It is normal for jihadi groups to set up mirror accounts, unless Twitter is taking steps to ensure that all subsequent accounts are deleted promptly, which is what forced IS off Twitter in an official capacity. Second, there have been no new media releases of any sort: no new photos, videos or statements. For example, Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq is supposed to release something every year in relation to Eid al-Adha (e.g. here in 2013, here in 2012, here in 2011, and here in 2010), but nothing this time around, even as Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Bilad al-Sham [Syria] put out photos in relation to the occasion.

Finally, we come to testimony I myself have gathered, this coming from one ‘Abu Bakr al-Iraqi’, one of those from Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq who has not pledged allegiance to IS. When I asked him about the lack of any new media releases from Jamaat Ansar al-Islam, he explained that “the group came to an end 3 months ago as around 3000 of them pledged allegiance to the Dawla, which constitutes a ratio of 90%.” Despite his own lack of pledge of allegiance, Abu Bakr al-Iraqi is sympathetic to/understanding of those from Jamaat Ansar al-Islam who defected to IS, tweeting recently: “Whoever attacks our brothers the soldiers of Ansar al-Islam who pledged allegiance to the Dawla, I say to them: ‘Be aware of God, for they have not abandoned their arms. Whereas we have remained seated, they are in their place. This is better than [what] we [are doing.]'” It will also be recalled that Abu Bakr al-Iraqi, despite his misgivings about IS’ conduct in brutally crushing the Shaitat tribal rebellion in Deir az-Zor province, had nonetheless expressed approval of the beheading of James Foley, and characterized the coalition against IS as part of a war on Islam (a discourse that goes beyond Iraq’s jihadi groups: cf. the Islamist nationalist 1920s Revolution Brigades in a recent statement).

In sum, what we have here is a case of pledges of allegiance arising not only on account of IS’ assertions of wealth and power but also strongly facilitated by ideological overlap. After all, if one is aspiring for a Caliphate, then there is certainly some allure in pledging allegiance to a group that already claims to be a Caliphate and has the real trappings of a state entity, unlike IS’ predecessor the Islamic State of Iraq. In this process of rapid pledges of allegiance, IS has effectively destroyed Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s project to spread through Syria and Iraq as one battlefield, as the group’s Syrian branch is now isolated in Aleppo and Idlib, having been cut off from Iraq on account of IS’ control of Raqqa province as well as most of Deir az-Zor province and all parts of Hasakah province not controlled by Kurds or the regime.

I also mentioned in the beginning of this article that the case of Jamaat Ansar al-Islam offers insight into how we interpret available evidence. Just because a statement put out in a group’s name is not issued via that group’s official media channel, it should not automatically follow that this statement is a mere pro-IS forgery of no meaning or value. On the contrary, as my friend and colleague Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has commented in relation to IS and securing pledges of allegiance outside of Syria and Iraq, one aspect of IS’ strategy appears to be to have those ready to declare their allegiance within a particular group to issue a statement in that group’s name regardless of any disapproval at the official level. What then follows of course depends on circumstances by case. To illustrate this point, one can look at Egypt’s Jamaat Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (JABM) for comparison. As happened with Jamaat Ansar al-Islam in Iraq, a statement was put out in JABM’s name claiming a bay’ah to IS, which was then circulated in the Egyptian press and in a Reuters story. The statement was then denied on JABM’s Twitter feed the next day, but then days later an audio was released on that same Twitter feed affirming bay’ah to IS.

Though not exactly analogous, it would seem that in both cases the initial event of a statement in the group’s name claiming allegiance was probably the result of IS encouraging those willing to pledge allegiance- at that point the majorities in their groups- to put out a statement, which would force loyalists unwilling to lose their groups’ distinct identities to respond in some way. With JABM, the difference (as opposed to Jamaat Ansar al-Islam’s traditional rivalry with IS) would appear to be that most of the reluctant remnant controlling the official media channel was trying to have it both ways in being sympathetic to IS without actually pledging allegiance, which might explain the rather odd tweet denying the initial pledge of allegiance while referring to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the ‘Caliph of the Muslims.’ Thus, this remnant was compelled to issue a pledge of allegiance days later to preserve credibility, while any others still unwilling to pledge (as allegedly existed in the Nile Valley area) would disband and perhaps join other groups (e.g. Ajnad Misr?).

Admittedly, the above as regards JABM is somewhat speculative, but that such experiments in thought seem necessary should point us to the most salient lesson that jihadi groups are never monolithic in alignments and approach, whatever apparent uniformity might be conveyed by official statements.

Comments (40)

ghufransaid:

the ease and the frequency at which various rebel groups joined Nusra and ISIS proved again that most rebels are simply hired guns, and the help these terrorist organizations received from many Syrians and non Syrians alike is a testimony to how troubled many Muslims as individuals are and Islam as a religion is today.
The significance of this is that is adds more credibility to the theory that the uprising against the regime should have stayed peaceful even when faced with regime brutality, the damage could have been far less and the political support for anti regime forces would have been far greater.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, a prominent Syrian Sunni Islamic scholar and vocal critic of the Islamic State, led prayers at the funeral of American beheading victim Peter Kassig. Chief foreign correspondent Margaret Warner interviews al-Yaqoubi, exiled from his country, about atrocities committed by the Islamic State, why the militant group is able to gain followers and the fight against the Assad regime.

Shaykh Muhammad was forced into exile from Syria following the start of the uprising for speaking out against the Assad regime.

The only new development is that now US, Iran and Assad can show freely what has been a wide known secret during last three years: that US do not want any FSA victory so Assad has open way to militar victory and control Syria again.

So we can assume IS is taking advantage of ambivalent tendencies inside jihadi groups by encouraging the pro-IS part to split from their previous group also offering support for the “new branch”.
Given the last speech of the AQAP official, Hārith b. Ghāzī al-Naẓārī, it seems true. In his message he criticized IS for “splitting the ranks of Mujahideen” and stressing the importance of not breaking one’s pledge (bay’a):

“Fourthly: The matter of the announcement of the Khilafah, with their acceptance that it is a matter of Ijtihaad (independent judgement), but the policy of our brothers in Dawlatul Islam has caused the splitting of the ranks of the Mujahideen and the division of their unity during this sensitive stage in the history of the Mujahid Ummah. And this is from the absolutely forbidden matters in the Religion of Allah, as is shown by the general proofs in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (S.A.W),( which is) the call to expel all differences and anything that leads to it. […]”

Al-Naẓārī’s message came after al-Baghdadi’s declaration (11-13-2014) of IS’s expansion to Yemen and after some parts of yemen’s jihadists pledged alliance to IS.

The difference between these pro-IS-jihadists and the al-Ẓawāhirī-camp of al-Naẓārī can be seen as an ideological dissent about how to establish a caliphate.
For one side, let’s take al-Naẓārī as example, his view is based on not accepting the caliphate proclaimed by IS not because rejecting a caliphate by itself but IS didn’t consult the other groups, the “Ahl al-Ḥall wa-l-ʿAqd” and the scholars of the Muslim Umma for this important step of establishing a caliphate.
For the other pro-IS-side, they seem to be attracted by IS-propaganda which is stressing the image of unity, overwhelming military success and sunni expansion. IS is creating its own myth – a self-fulfilling prophecy – and it works for attracting new personal and even for splitting old groups up. Thus IS is working like a black hole, the more are getting in, the stronger will become its gravity.

Most of the raids on Raqqa now are conducted by the US, we know that along with ISIS terrorists (listed by names) civilians have also died. Rebels and terrorists hide in civilian areas and the army hits those areas with little regard to civilians, we have to say it as it: both sides on this conflict are not too worried about civilians, rebels in particular CHOSE to use civilian areas as launching pads for attacks against the army.
Terrorist of Nusra are now in control of another town in Syria, Rastan (near Homs), they stormed the city and arrested rebels who were still carrying the symbolic banner of FSA, now Rastan is added to the list of towns that will be bombed at will in the name of fighting terrorism. When I said that using violence and occupying villages and cities was wrong some of you got angry and accused me of being sympathetic to the regime, let us see how your FSA heroes can fix this mess now !!

Come on Ghufran, either you’re trying to fool yourself or assuming I’m a complete idiot. The Americans have been bombing Raqqa for three months now, not once did they kill 100 civilians at once. Also never did they barrel bomb a market wait for help to arrive rescue the survivors and barrel bomb the help.

Such cowardice, utter and complete cowardice. Nothing differentiates a masked fanatic cutting heads off from the fanatic pushing a barrel bomb from a helicopter except the body count.

It is strange that the Syrians commentators here simply talking about the US bombing began three months ago without a mandate from the Security Council
Do you know when the end of foreign aggression against your homeland gentlemen?

No, nor do I know when the foreign Hizballah, Iraqi Militias, and Iranian agents aggression in my country will ever end. All thanks for the actions of Bashar and the cowardice of the Assadists militia you call SAA…

Sami, nobody here will admit of being a fool or should accuse others of being fools, there are no good players in the Syrian war, this war should not have started in the first place.
I was among the first people here to condemn the bombing of civilian areas but I do not know of any war where civilians were not killed. Hundred of thousands of civilians were killed by NATO and israel’s bombing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen and Pakistan and certainly in Gaza & Lebanon ( in Israel’s case).
Most Syrians chose to ignore the inconvenient truth about this war because they are not willing to admit that their favorite side committed atrocities. The only way to save civilians is to stop the war and reach an agreement where foreign fighters leave Syria by choice or force and let Syrians figure out a way out of this tragedy, that will not happen until Turkey and Iran stop pouring gas on the flames of war. More than 200,000 Syrians were killed to serve the interests of Turkey, the GCC and Iran. Alawites would have been more sympathetic to the anti Assad campaign if the opposition kept the resistance peaceful and did not resort to sectarianism and did not ally themselves with Islamist militias and foreign terrorists. Read early comments by khaldoun and many others who were openly calling for war against Shia and alawites and look at the numbers of those who were killed on the government side and you will see why millions of Syrians concluded that the armed rebels were not interested in freedom and democracy, they just wanted revenge and a country where people who are different are either killed, arrested, enslaved or sent back to ” where they came from”.
ثوره غير شكل ما شالله

“A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”

― Mao Tse-tung

Having said that, this revolution was largely peaceful. Unfortunately Assad forced people to defend themselves, their families, homes and their futures.

Ghufran 11h32
And Le Monde had a full page praising the “militants” of Raqqa savagely bombed by Asad, on the next day (not on the website but in the paper edition with… with only 15 days delay… an article on Louay Hussein’s arrest)

Ghufran, while yes, most of those wars had a high civilian death toll, civilians were not the primary target.

Bombing a market twice, is the very definition of targeting civilians.

Ask yourself this, if Raqqa was Gaza and instead of the “SAA” dropping the bomb it was the “IDF” , would you be taking the same stand that civilians die in war and this was not a civilian targeted operation?

Israel and NATO are saints compared to the Asasdists and ISIS. In fact, if you look at all figures, Since 1945, Israel has killed much less Palestinians, civilians and militias, than Assad has killed Syrians in the last 3.5 years.

Syria has managed to produce two of the most brutal organizations in the history of the region: the Assad mafia, and ISIS.

Funny how regime media is talking about how Rastan has fallen in the hands of the Islamist terrorists, where in the past 3 years they have been talking about how the Syrian Army has been fighting the Islamist terrorists who’ve been hiding in Rastan. I guess those were not terrorists after all?

The West has been covertly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood since at least 2010 as the ‘moderate’ alternative to Al Qaeda. Supporting a supposedly ‘peaceful, secular and democratic’ Islam is a 25 year old doctrine that is supposed to stop radicalization.

The Muslim brotherhood rode the Egyptian revolution as they did in Tunisia, Libya and Syria. They did not start the revolution – the people in the streets did. People who were fed up with indignity and single party rule. They want for themselves what everyone in the world has, including now the majority of Africa. The Arab world is the last standing uncivilized region when it comes to political freedoms and human rights.

Regimes like Assad’s can only survive and last if they convince their people of the dangers lurking on the borders. While enemies do exist, none can be more dangerous than the enemy within: the lack of dignity and freedom for the countrymen. Until true democracy and the rule of law flourish in Syria, we will look forward to decades of darkness, consuming our wealth and human capital fighting each other and fictitious enemies, while the rest of the world moves on and leave us behind. All the same, so long as our leaders continue to enslave us and enrich themselves and their circles.

America’s Real Ties to ISIS
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2014/12/01/america-s-real-ties-to-isis/
..
“There is a clear divergence of purpose here. Watching ISIS operate, it is clear they have received far superior training than that given the Iraqi Army, training the US spent several hundred billions dollars on. The secret training camps in Jordan, established three years ago but now “gone dark,” are staffed with elite Special Forces. There is strong evidence that the core of ISIS capability is tied to these bases in Jordan and “black budget” facilities known only to the likes of Senator John McCain, soon to take over as Chairman of the all-powerful Senate Armed Services Committee.”
..
While JSOC and the Special Forces have opened the “black budget coffers,” seemingly overfilled by contributions from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, in support of ISIS, the US Army itself has set upon an equally disastrous path. The US has a much checkered history when it comes to picking allies…..

You are starting to have some allucinations. I think you are changing theories day aftwer day, you can see the evil in the US even Obama is allied with Assad and Iran. I think there are some pills for this problem.

Not only Dayr Azoour airport did not fall but it was defended by locals who helped the army deter ISIS, even the US is trying to take credit for ISIS defeat by tweeting(through US embassy in Syria account) that US jets raided positions for ISIS around the airport.
Politically, the SNC is finally coming out of the closet and meeting with Russian officials and agreeing to negotiate with the regime without prior conditions.
One of the commentators who was banned from this site and is now blessing Hitaan with his “thoughtful” posts is angry at Obama and openly stating that the US is ” an enemy of the revolution”. Try to understand how this dude has lived and worked in this country for decades but still find it to be an enemy !!
Throw away every thing you learned about Islamism and smell the flowers, many Muslims, excluding children, are not deserving of your support, only tolerant and peaceful Muslims are. Lebanon hosted 1.5 million Syrians but some Syrians chose to carry arms and attack the Lebanese army, others have demonstrated on Lebanese soil asking Nusra chief to “enter Beirut” !!
Speaking of tolerance: Moderate rebels in Aleppo destroyed a historical mosque that dates back to the 13th century
فجّر مسلحو «الجبهة الإسلامية»، أمس، مسجد السلطانية في حلب، الذي يعتبر من أهم المساجد الأثرية في المدينة القديمة، وذلك عن طريق حفر نفق وتفخيخه، ما أدى إلى تدميره بالكامل.
وقال مصدر ميداني، لـ«السفير»، إن مسلحي «الجبهة الإسلامية» قاموا بحفر نفق من داخل أحياء المدينة القديمة التي يسيطرون عليها نحو المسجد الخالي من أي وجود عسكري، ليتهاوى المسجد الذي يعود إلى العصر الأيوبي ركاماً أمام باب القلعة التي يسيطر عليها الجيش السوري

One can hardly stay open minded without reviewing ones position on certain things. I now believe that there is some value in the efforts being undertaken by Jawad and Matthew.

I think their work should result in a more organized encyclopedia or reference book on Jihadi thug groups as well as Nationalist (i mean groups resisting the Iranian occupation) working in Syria. Articles alone are insufficient and they remain superficial. I would like to encourage both to go to the next step.

Chapters on regime thugs and groups aiding the iranian occupation would of course be very helpful.

I will not say keep up the good work, but i hazard say… do the good work. Get a solid, research book out. Make it devoid of political spin. It will be a worthy addition.